Native American Maine jeweler who claims his bosses called him 'Big Indian' and used other racial slurs wins $40,000 in lawsuit

• e-mail

A jewelry designer who says his employers called him a 'Big Indian' has won $40,000 in a lawsuit he filed in Maine.

Jason Brown says his employers' comments about 'Indians and firewater' made fun of his Native American heritage. Brown is a Penobscot Indian Nation member, according to MainePublic.com.

Day's Jewelers owners Jeff and Kathy Corey have denied making such statements.

Jason Brown, a member of the Penobscot tribe of Maine, won a lawsuit against his former employers for $40,000

The lawsuit (Capital Judicial Center in Augusta, Maine, above) alleged that his former employers, Jeff and Cathy Corey abused Brown over his Native American background

Brown worked for Day's Jewelers between 2006 and 2013. He filed his suit in 2014, claiming the company's owners made disparaging statements regarding his race.

Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy found last month that Brown was subjected to unwelcome harassment based on his race and awarded the damages.

'It is clear to the court that Kathy Corey and Jeff Corey had at the time of these events little insight into how their behavior and remarks harmed Mr. Brown, but the court finds that he has proven by a preponderance of evidence that it did,' the judge wrote. 

In response to the allegations, the Coreys denied making disparaging remarks or claimed to not remember making them in the first place. 

Brown said that the Coreys used terms like 'Big Indian' and also stated that 'discrimination in the workplace against Native Americans or any employee is unacceptable' (Brown with his wife Donna, above)

In addition, the judge said that Brown was impacted by his former employers' use of the n-word.

'It is clear to the court that Kathy Corey and Jeff Corey had at the time of these events little insight into how their behavior and remarks harmed Mr. Brown, but the court finds that he has proven by a preponderance of evidence that it did,' the judge wrote in her decision.

Murphy says it is 'undisputed' that Jeff Corey showed Brown a picture of a man dressed up in Native American clothing doing a 'rain dance.'

Jeff and Kathy Corey (above) the owners of Day's Jewelry, have denied making any derisive statements about Brown's heritage

Through his lawyer, Brown painted a picture of what it was like to work for the couple.

'What I want people to understand is that I cared about Jeff and Kathy Corey and Day's Jewelers,' said Brown, who now works as an independent jewelry designer with his wife, Donna.

'I was made to feel like part of their family, but I was also continuously being ridiculed about my race. My hope is that Jeff and Kathy Corey now understand that discrimination in the workplace against Native Americans or any employee is unacceptable.'